Day One
by Magnus McKay
Summary: A Rachel Miller oneshot. After accepting her place on the expidition team, Rachel is thrown face first into work on arrival at the Artic Expedition post. Here she meet's Carson Beckett for the first time and witnesses the true power of the Ancients.


It had been a long time since that evening, sat with my little brother in my bedroom talking about the Stargate. It had been well over a month since I had been given my Doctorate. I still hadn't got used to people call me Dr Miller. It's still weird for me now!

I'd felt very self conscious when I had arrived at the Artic base. For a start I was by far one of the youngest people there. The whole base was contained, you ate, slept and worked there. It was cold all the time, but I was used to that. I met a few people on the helicopter over. There was a Czech Scientist called Zelenka who I got on rather well with.

We met McKay at the entrance and he separated Zelenka and I out and took us to meet the other scientists. After a quick tour of the complex he assigned us jobs. I was to help Zelenka with the chair and the effects of the Ancient Gene.

"New girl." McKay said turning to me.

I raised my eyebrows, 'New Girl'? Who the hell was he calling 'New Girl'?

"Erm… Dr McKay, it's Dr Miller." I said pointing to myself awkwardly.

It was the first time I'd called myself a doctor and it felt very weird.

"I'll never remember that… no wait… you have the same last name as my sister, I should be able to remember that. Anyway, hmm, what was I saying? Ah yes, don't touch anything." he said quickly.

Jesus Christ, this man could speak faster than ME!

"I'm sorry did you just tell me not to touch anything?" I asked frowning.

"Pretty much. Why don't you go and talk Dr Beckett into sitting in that chair again. You're both British. You should be able to persuade him." McKay says with a grin.

I could have slapped him. Two days ago, this guy was weirdly attractive. Right at that second in time, I wanted to throttle him. I knew that chair backwards, I'd studied the files endlessly while I was training at the SGC. I had spent weeks doing research on the Ancient Gene and Rodney McKay had told me not to touch anything and sent me on a stupid errand. Oh this was NOT on! I'd show him, forgetting me that easily after all the praise he'd given me a month ago.

It took me a good half hour to track down Dr Beckett. When I found him, he was in the tiny break room we had with a few stiff chairs and an ancient coffee pot that made the worst coffee imaginable. He was watching the small television in the corner. It was some wildlife program about elephants. I could tell by the look on his face Dr Beckett was watching it because there was nothing else to do.

"Excuse me Dr Beckett?" I asked tentatively.

He looked up from the television and did a double take.

"Hello sweetheart, I haven't seen you around here before, you aren't lost are you?" he asked in a very thick Scottish accent.

Okay this was the kind of reception I had been expecting.

"Dr Rachel Miller and no I'm not lost. I was sent to look for you." I was tempted to say PhD after, but that would have just been too showy.

I held my hand out and Beckett shook it firmly.

"Dr Carson Beckett, and what can I do for you?" he asked leaning one arm on the back of the chair.

Was he trying to chat me up? It sure as hell sounded like it. Don't get me wrong, I was flattered but it really wasn't going to wash.

"I'm sorry Dr Beckett but Dr McKay sent me here to ask you to take another go in the chair." I said with a little shrug.

Beckett stopped smiling at the mention of the chair.

"Not bloody likely." he said, dropping the cool guy voice he'd been using.

"Look Dr Beckett, I have been here all of five minutes, felt like the past months worth of research was pointless, had my name forgotten and, oh yes been humiliated by someone who called me a genius just a few weeks ago…"

"Those last two McKay?" Beckett asked.

"Yes," I replied in a slightly choked voice, "Look, I was told I was going to be doing amazing work, be a pioneer. What's happened though? I've been sent on an errand to find the guy who can operate the stupid damned chair I've spent so long studying about and I'm not even allowed to touch!"

Dr Beckett patted me on the arm gently and sighed. He got to his feet and pulled his jacket on.

"Well when you put it like that, love, I can hardly say no can I?" he replied.

I smiled weakly at him and he lead the way back to the chair. So far my first day on the base was not going well. When we actually got to the chair however, Beckett suddenly became very nervous. McKay was tapping away on his tablet. He looked up and spied me, floating around, not touching anything.

"Miller." he called.

"Yes, McKay?" I replied.

If he wasn't going to call me Dr Miller then I sure as hell wasn't going to call him Dr McKay.

"I want you to monitor the energy reading, tell me if the levels hit red." he says pointing to a large monitor.

At last a proper job. I hurried over to the monitor, ignoring the argument between Beckett and McKay and waited patiently for Beckett to park his arse on the chair. He reluctantly did so and the chair lit up a brilliant blue and reclined. I heard a few snappy comments between the two of them and then…

"I think I feel something… it maybe lunch related."

Well that was it, I was gone. I wanted to laugh so badly but I knew McKay would come down on me like a tonne of bricks. I swear I must have cracked two ribs trying not to laugh. I looked at the monitor, concentrating hard on my task and not on the flippant comment. All the levels were in the green. But then suddenly there was a spike. All the levels went haywire, I went to yell for McKay, but he already knew.

There was a loud explosion and yelling and screaming and then silence as everyone in the room stared at Beckett. God knows how he'd managed it but he had set off an Ancient drone weapon one of the other scientists were working on. Okay, it really wasn't the best first day ever.


End file.
